Katherine Mc Phee’s Battle with Bulimia
makes her a True American Idol                    

By Abigail Natenshon, MA, LCSW,GCFP

In a story that appeared this week in People Magazine about the American Idol contestant, Katherine Mc Phee, Katherine disclosed that she has secretly suffered from bulimia for the past five years.  It was her success in the competition on television show American Idol that inspired her to come forward and get help to recover. Katherine, a vocalist, who at her worst point was self-inducing vomiting up to seven times a day, claimed that she realized her behaviors were “equivalent to taking a sledgehammer to her throat” and brought herself to treatment.

Glamorizing eating disorders? Or becoming an invaluable role model?

The greatest increase in an upward trend of eating disorders these past three decades has occurred within the female population between the ages of 15 and 24. In a satellite interview with Contessa Brewer on MSNBC on June 24, 2006, eating disorder psychotherapist and author Abigail Natenshon MA, LCSW, GCFP, “tipped her hat” to Katherine when asked if she felt that celebrities coming forward with these problems “glamorize” the illness, encouraging dysfunction in impressionable young people.  Ms. Natenshon believes that though some impressionable youngsters are bound to engage in experimentation, for the most part, the responses of people like Katherine McPhee provide invaluable role modeling for fans. “You can’t solve a problem till you can define it,” she said.  Ms. McPhee has displayed the courage and proactive intention to achieve her dreams, to make her life as healthy, gratified and fulfilled as it can be. Despite the misconception that “Once eating disordered, always eating disordered,” eating disorders are curable in 80 percent of cases where recognized early and treated effectively. In her forthright and courageous stand, I believe McPhee has become a true American idol.”

Uncovering the secrets of Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa: the most lethal mental health disorders

Though statistics show that 1 percent of young females in this country suffer with bulimia, the numbers most likely reflect the enormity of the problem, as bulimia is among the most frequently missed diagnoses and only a minority of people who struggle with eating disorders, particularly bulimia, are treated in mental healthcare. The most lethal of all the metal health disorders, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are extremely hard to recognize as they are highly secretive diseases; they typically make the victim feel and look “better than ever;” and they rarely show up in doctors’ offices during the physical or functional assessments….even laboratory tests do not evidence an eating disorder until the most advanced stages of disease. Making matters more confusing, the symptoms of these lethal disorders all lay along the continuum of normal human behaviors.  Who doesn’t overeat, under-eat or engage in emotional or social eating at times?

8 signs that parents and families may see at home, around the dinner table, in the family bathroom, or the child’s bedroom:

Recognizing signs of clinical disease or the early signs of a disease in the making is critical.  Eating disorders represent a dysfunctional relationship with food…an abuse of food to resolve emotional issues.  You may see signs in the victim’s

• Erratic eating; eating too much or too little, too frequently or too seldom
• Dieting and other restrictive eating behaviors (in some instances vegetarianism or skipping meals) that can result in extreme hunger and gorging, irregular menstrual periods
• Fear of putting on weight, and an all encompassing preoccupation with food and eating that can account for as much as 80 percent of an individual’s thoughts
• Hiding food, and feeling shame and guilt after eating it; the refusal to eat in the company of others.
• Depressive moods
• Various forms of purging, including self-induced vomiting, excessive exercising, laxative, diuretic or Ipecac abuse 
• Impulsive, immoderate and out of control behaviors beyond the realm of eating, that might include shop lifting, promiscuity, cutting, engaging in chaotic relationships, abuse of substances such as drugs, alcohol, nicotine, diet pills, etc.

There is nothing passive about eating disorders.  Always on the move, they are either getting better or you can be certain they are getting worse. Eating disorder recovery can be a long-term process, requiring input from a diverse team of professionals including physicians, psychotherapists, family therapists, nutritionists, psycho pharmacologists and school counselors. The course of recovery will be as variable, must be as comprehensive, and in many ways will feel as convoluted as the course of disease, typically combining outpatient and inpatient treatment milieus and diverse treatment modes. Victims of eating disorders, as young as age 5 or as old as 60, male or female, individuals alone or living within the context of a supportive or not so supportive family system need help to recognize, accept and conquer these diseases… to become capable of reclaiming their lives, proactively, with steadfast commitment, of fighting the good fight for life and life quality.

Author’s Bio: An internationally renowned expert in the treatment of eating disorders, Abigail H. Natenshon, MA, LCSW, GCFP is a psychotherapist who has treated children, adults, couples, families and groups for past 36 years. The author of When Your Child Has An Eating Disorder, A Step-by-Step Workbook For Parents And Other Caregivers (Jossey Bass, Publisher), and the book-in-progress Doing What Works: The Professional’s Guide to Treating Eating Disorders, Abigail is also a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner on the cutting edge of combining traditional psychotherapy with this potent holistic adjunct body technique to enhance body- and self-image healing.
As the founder and director of  “Eating Disorder Specialists of Illinois: A Clinic Without Walls.” Ms. Natenshon hosts three informational web sites, including www.empoweredparents.com, www.empoweredkidZ.com and www.treatingeatingdisorders.com. Abigail has made numerous guest appearances on national television and speaks widely to parent and professional audiences.  She maintains an active private practice in Highland Park, Illinois where she resides with her husband.